Idolatry

by Moshe Halbertal, Avishai Margalit, Naomi Goldblum (Translator)

“You shall have no other gods besides Me.” This injunction, handed down through Moses three thousand years ago, marks one of the most decisive shifts in Western away from polytheism toward monotheism. Despite the momentous implications of such a turn, the role of idolatry in giving it direction and impetus is little understood. This book examines the meaning and nature of idolatry―and, in doing so, reveals much about the monotheistic tradition that defines itself against this sin. The authors consider Christianity and Islam, but focus primarily on Judaism. They explore competing claims about the concept of idolatry that emerges in the Hebrew Bible as a “whoring after false gods.” Does such a description, grounded in an analogy of sexual relations, presuppose the actual existence of other gods with whom someone might sin? Or are false gods the product of “men’s hands,” simply a matter of misguided belief? The authors show how this debate, over idolatry as practice or error, has taken shape and has in turn shaped the course of Western thought―from the differentiation between Jewish and Christian conceptions of God to the distinctions between true and false belief that inform the tradition of religious enlightenment. Ranging with authority from the Talmud to Maimonides, from Marx to Nietzsche and on to G.E. Moore, this brilliant account of a subject central to our culture also has much to say about metaphor, myth, and the application of philosophical analysis to religious concepts and sensibilities. Its insights into pluralism and intolerance, into the logic and illogic of the arguments religions aim at each other, make Idolatry especially timely and valuable in these days of dark and implacable religious difference.

Genres: Religion, Judaism, Islam, Theology, Cultural, Philosophy

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Moshe Halbertal (Hebrew: משה הלברטל; born Montevideo, Uruguay, 1958) is an Israeli philosopher, professor, and writer, a noted expert on Maimonides, and co-author of the Israeli Army Code of Ethics. He currently holds positions as Professor of Jewish Thought and Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Gruss Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. In 2021 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society

Reviews

[Marsha Altman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh, I forgot how impenetrable academic biblical exegesis is. Too brilliant to be readable.

EDIT AS OF 2017: But if you need an academic explanation of idolatry through a Judeo-Christian lense for a paper, damn, this is the best book for it.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many ways to examine the concept of idolatry from a religious standpoint. In “Idolatry”, our authors, Moshe Halbertal and Avishai Margalit, are pretty clear from the beginning how they set their investigation up:

“Our conceptual analysis of idolatry thus has two aims. One is to understand idolatry as a central concept in the history of religion by analyzing texts from monotheistic religions. The other is to use these analyses to elucidate a number of classical problems in philosophy.” (page 14, eBook)

Thus, what we get is something that basically can be boiled down to how do Abrahamic faiths—most notably Judaism—view idolatry not solely through Scripture but in post-Biblical and even medieval writings as well.

Early on we almost have “case closed!” moment on the entire issue before the curtain is pulled back and the real journey begins: “The way the Bible explains what is bad about idolatry by using images of flaws in human relationships teaches us that the basis of our understanding of the sin of idolatry is our moral standpoint with respect to what is permitted and what is forbidden in interpersonal relationships.” (page 18) But as we know, simply describing idolatry (and yes, this word is going to be used a lot in the review and not just to denote the name of the book!) as ‘going whoring after alien gods’ is not going to cut it. The relationship runs deep, is multifaceted, can be anthropomorphic, can be less a lover and more a slave/master, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I have—and you will too if you read this—learned a ton as to why things are understand how they are.

In some ways, this is far and away a tough book. In fact, in true bizarro fashion, I found more enlightenment from a chapter called “Idolatry as Error” than “The Ethics of Belief” even though the latter was significantly shorter and seemed to cover something a bit more relatable. If you’re like me—a non-academic who just has an almost unhealthy desire to absorb knowledge hoping most sticks akin to a well-used two week old sponge—don’t be dissuaded here. Yes, this goes hard academic to the point the book is simply called “Idolatry” with no spicy subtitle to help guide in those on the fence. Yes, it’s a translation and from my experiences at least, it’s not that translations of works like this are bad (almost never!), but the book is probably tackling some especially difficult themes English academia has not yet took on. The subject of idolatry of course probably has its fair share of publications in most languages, but what our two authors put out here stands high up on that echelon in any language.

As I was reading Idolatry, there was another benefit I picked up: an even greater appreciation of Maimonides, the person whom “it is no exaggeration to say, the entire history of Jewish intellectual life in the later Middle Ages pivots.” (Spencer, Nick. Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science & Religion (p. 73, eBook) In particular, throughout this book we see many references and philosophical lifting of things originally written in the Guide to the Perplexed, a book I admittedly read (the first half at least) a few years ago with most of it besides negative theology going in one ear and out the other. While some say you need to start with the source material (ie, read the Guide if it’s so groundbreaking—and trust most anyone, it is), but if the source material is on another level of complexity, it may make sense to spend time reading about it and its author in the language that humans speak before finally building up the mental fortitude to take on the original text even if it’s still a translation. Maimonides obviously has a lot to say about idolatry and his ample inclusion in Idolatry was a perfect choice. Furthermore on the subject of esoterica, it’s uncanny how a seemingly dense academic book focusing first and foremost in idolatry not only somehow manages to simplify Guide but also does something similar for (at least part of) Kabbalah:

“The role of man according to the kabbalists is to secure the unity of this teeming divine structure, and he accomplishes this by fulfilling the commandments of the Torah. Man becomes responsible for the equilibrium within the godhead, for the delicate divine balance that is always on the verge of upsetting itself, and he secures the affinity between God and world that keeps the world in existence. Idolatry according to the kabbalists is the extreme opposite of what is achieved in adherence to the Torah; instead of unity, idolatry creates division within the godhead.” (page 251)

That not only did I “make it through” and I leave that in quotes because this book may have started as a challenge, but by the end, “making it through” turned into “finishing hoping for more”. Idolatry literally turns idolatry on its head. While this book is rooted in Judaism, it looks at the concept both from source texts and also from ‘the other side’. Understanding, comprehension, and appreciation for why people may choose this way of life has never been explained clearer. This is not an easy read, but for anyone who is interested in the concept, this is your book.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book begins by focusing on the most common Biblical version of idolatry: a betrayal of the true God for another god, much like an adulterous wife's betrayal of her husband. This conception of idolatry made sense at a time when paganism dominated the world, and is perfectly consistent with monolatry (the idea that other gods exist but Jews must not worship them).

But this conception of idolatry made less sense to medieval rationalist thinkers who conceived of God in more impersonal ways or who had little first-hand experience of polytheism. For example, Maimonides saw idolatry as an intellectual error- people treated God's creations as identical to God, or imagined deities to be like themselves in some respect.

The Jewish mystical tradition and its critics have a third conception of idolatry. The mystics, unlike rationalists, found it easy to conceive of supernatural forces below God, or multiple aspects of God. To fight charges of idolatry, the more moderate mystics tried to distinguish between worship of God (not idolatrous) and worship of individual aspects of God (idolatrous).

A fourth conception of idolatry was a response to coercion and assimilation: the Talmudic sages focused less on the concept of idolatry than on creating legal rules designed to draw the distinction between permissible behavior, idolatry, and behavior that was not idolatrous but still impermissible (for example, coerced worship which combined seemingly idolatrous acts with the lack of intent to honor Jesus or a pagan deity).

At the end, the authors focus on a conception of idolatry with more modern relevance, involving too much obedience to either a political leader or some other force. Here, the authors have more questions than answers. To what extent does honor cross the line into idolatry? This question has been debated for millenia, as the authors show.

[Craig Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Idolatry by Moshe Halbertal (1998)